Singapore's non-domestic sector uses about 55% of its current water supply and this is projected to increase to 70% of its future water demand by 2060. To manage non-domestic sector water efficiency, PUB introduced the Mandatory Water Efficiency Management Practices (MWEMP) in 2015.

Under MWEMP, large water users have to submit details of their water consumption, business activity indicators and water efficiency plans to PUB annually. With these collected data, PUB is able to develop sectoral water efficiency benchmarks for hotels, office buildings, retail operations, wafer fabrication & semiconductor plants, commercial laundry, data centres and biomedical manufacturing facilities.

The Water Efficiency Index (WEI) serves as the performance indicator for water efficiency, and refers to the amount of water used per business activity indicator.

WEI = Total amount of water consumed / Business activity indicator

Sectoral Water Efficiency Benchmarks

The sectoral water efficiency benchmarks are tabulated based on annual water consumption data.

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Hotel benchmarks

For the hotel sector, the Water Efficiency Index (WEI) is computed using the annual water consumption of a hotel divided by number of guestnights in the same year. This index reflects the daily amount of water a hotel used for its operations per guest.

For more details, please download the brochure below [PDF].

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Office building benchmarks

For the office building sector, the Water Efficiency Index (WEI) is computed using a building's annual water consumption divided by its gross floor area of the building. This index reflects the amount of water used for its operations for each gross floor area annually.

For more details, please download the brochure below [PDF].

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Retail benchmarks

For the retail sector, the Water Efficiency Indexes (WEIs) are computed using:

1. Annual water consumption (exclude toilets) divided by the gross floor area of a retail mall, reflecting its usage for operations per gross floor area annually.

2. Annual water consumption of toilets in a retail mall divided by the number of shoppers and days in the same year, reflecting the amount of water used per shopper daily.

For more details, please download the brochure below [PDF].

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School benchmarks

Based on data collected from about 300 educational institutions (primary and secondary schools, as well as junior colleges), it was found that toilets are the main water usage areas.

For more details, please download the brochure below [PDF].

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Wafer fabrication and semiconductor plants benchmarks

For the wafer fabrication and semiconductor plants sector, the recycling rate is computed using the total recycled water of a plant divided by summation of the total supplied water and recycled water.

For more details, please download the brochure below [PDF].

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Commercial Laundry Benchmarks

For the commercial laundry sector, the Water Efficiency Index (WEI) is computed using the annual water consumption divided by the annual amount of wash load processed by the commercial laundry. This index reflects the amount of water a commercial laundry uses to process each wash load annually.

For more details, please download the brochure below [PDF].

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Data Centre Benchmarks

For the data centre sector, the Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) is computed using the data centre’s annual water consumption divided by the annual operating IT equipment load.

For more details, please download the brochure below [PDF].

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Biomedical Manufacturing Benchmarks

For the biomedical manufacturing sector, the recycling rate is computed using the total recycled water of a plant divided by summation of the total supplied water and recycled water.

For more details, please download the brochure below [PDF].

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With the data and information gathered from the submission of water efficiency management plans by large water users, PUB has gathered good practices and developed a series of publications in consultation with the industry, including Best Practice Guide in Water Efficiency for Buildings, Wafer Fabrication and Semiconductor Sector, Refineries, Petrochemicals and Chemicals Sector, Commercial Laundry Sector, Biomedical Manufacturing Sector as well as Food and Beverage Manufacturing Sector. The aim of the guides is to provide professional engineers, developers, building owners, plant owners, facilities managers, facility operators and managing agents, who are involved in water management, with basic knowledge of designing, maintaining and operating a water-efficient building and plant.

Download PDF >> Best Practice Guide in Water Efficiency (Buildings)	Download PDF >> Best Practice Guide in Water Efficiency (Wafer Fabrication and Semiconductor Sector)
Download PDF >> Best Practice Guide in Water Efficiency (Refineries, Petrochemicals and Chemicals Sector)	Download PDF >> Best Practice Guide in Water Efficiency (Biomedical Manufacturing Sector)
Download PDF >> Best Practice Guide in Water Efficiency (Commercial Laundry Sector)	Download PDF >> Best Practice Guide in Water Efficiency (Food and Beverage Manufacturing Sector)

Evaporative cooling towers are an essential part of infrastructure for air-conditioning systems and many industrial processes. The water demand for evaporative cooling’s needs takes up a substantial 25% of the total water demand of large water users. In general, it is estimated that more than 30 mgd (million gallons per day) is used by such evaporative cooling towers.

To reduce water losses to the environment and instil water conservation among facilities owners, PUB has published the “Technical Reference for Water Conservation in Cooling Towers” as a technical guide for the industries and businesses. This first edition book provides best practices on good cooling tower management, operations and design for developers, building owners, managing agents, and industries.